Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation

A Comparative Analysis of Post-War Education Reform

Masako Shibata

Focusing on the post war reconstruction of the education systems in Japan and Germany under U.S. military occupation after World War II, this book offers a comparative historical investigation of education reform policies in these two war ravaged and ideologically compromised countries. While in Japan large-scale reforms were undertaken swiftly after the end of the war, the U.S. zone in Germany maintained most of the traditional aspects of the German education system. Why did Japan so readily accept ideas and values developed in the allied countries while Germany resisted? Masako Shibata explores this question, arguing that the role of the university and the pattern of elite formation, which can be traced back to the period of the formation of Meiji Japan and the Kaiserreich, created the conditions for differing reactions from educational leaders in each country; this had a decisive impact on the proposed reforms. By examining these reactions through a sociological, cultural, and historical frame, an explanation emerges. Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation will prove to be a valuable resource both to scholars of history and education reform.
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Masako Shibata's book, Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation, is an excellent comparative analysis of post-war education reform in the two countries. Shibata uses crucial findings from Japanese resources and German newspapers of the era. Many historical facts are misconceived by historians, but Shibata uses her linguistic ability to establish her book as close to the essence of the true history.— Gary H. Tsuchimochi, Hirosaki University

Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation

A Comparative Analysis of Post-War Education Reform

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Focusing on the post war reconstruction of the education systems in Japan and Germany under U.S. military occupation after World War II, this book offers a comparative historical investigation of education reform policies in these two war ravaged and ideologically compromised countries. While in Japan large-scale reforms were undertaken swiftly after the end of the war, the U.S. zone in Germany maintained most of the traditional aspects of the German education system. Why did Japan so readily accept ideas and values developed in the allied countries while Germany resisted? Masako Shibata explores this question, arguing that the role of the university and the pattern of elite formation, which can be traced back to the period of the formation of Meiji Japan and the Kaiserreich, created the conditions for differing reactions from educational leaders in each country; this had a decisive impact on the proposed reforms. By examining these reactions through a sociological, cultural, and historical frame, an explanation emerges. Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation will prove to be a valuable resource both to scholars of history and education reform.

Masako Shibata's book, Japan and Germany under the U.S. Occupation, is an excellent comparative analysis of post-war education reform in the two countries. Shibata uses crucial findings from Japanese resources and German newspapers of the era. Many historical facts are misconceived by historians, but Shibata uses her linguistic ability to establish her book as close to the essence of the true history.— Gary H. Tsuchimochi, Hirosaki University